Holy Empire of Que'edal
Overview The Holy Empire of Que'edal is the dominant nation in the north, controlling territory from the God's Anvil to the River Duchies in the south. The empire is a theocracy, goverend by a small elite of elven clergymen that dictate both religious and political policy within Que'edal. In general, the Que'edi prefer sophisticated social tactics to brute force in their diplomatic and expansionary endeavors, employing tactics like religious assimilation, economic domination, trade embargo, corruption, intimidation, and assassination, to accomplish their ends instead. The Que'edi is composed of elves, half-elves, and humans. Government A theocracy, the Holy Empire of Que'edal is governed by the highest officials of its state religion, the Chorus of Many Voices, the Chorus' highest officials are the Council of High Godsingers, a group of five elven clergymen that make all important decisions regarding church and state policy. Issues are brought to the High Godsingers for debate by the local clergy, who are charged with representing their regionally-zoned congregations. The High Godsingers' edicts are then put into action by local church officials. Law Law in The Holy Empire of Que'edal is written directly within the religious texts. There are two texts, the Old Book of Godsongs or the Old Book, and the New Book of Godsongs or the New Book. The Old Book holds the ancient lore and laws of the Chorus of Many Voices written by the First Godsingers and the New Book contains the new edicts put in place by the High Godsingers over the many years. While the Old Book is immutable, the New book is constantly evolving and changing as generations of High Godsingers overwrite and rewrite the law of their predecessors. Accordingly, policy in the New Book can be challenged and put to review by the High Godsingers if it has not already been reviewed within 20 years. The law is enforced by the Inquisitory. Old Book LawCategory:Nations The law of the Old Book is immutable and unarguable. All Que'edi are expected to abide by its demands without argument, for challenging the Old Book is a crime in itself. This book is believed to be direct words of the Gods, spoken through the First Godsingers. Murder Murder is a crime in within the Holy Empire of Que'edal, however "murder" is defined very specifically by the Old Book and there are many cases in which killing is justified. Killing the killer or rapist of a son, daughter, father, mother, or spouse is acceptable, as is killing vandals and thieves of personal property. Additionally, killing infidels is not considered a crime. Perhaps the most interesting exception: parents may kill their own children without it being considered a crime. However, killing a member of the clergy, regardless of any of the previous justifications, is illegal and punishable. They may be accused and put to trial for any of the previously detailed crimes, and if found guilty, the accuser has the choice to carry out the execution themselves. The punishment for unjustified murder is the execution of the murderer, their spouse, and their children. This is to "cleanse" the perversion that the murderer likely spread to their family from the world. Marriage According to the laws of the Old Book, it is illegal to engage in sexual activity before marriage. However, marriage is defined loosely, and can take many forms ranging from traditional monogamous marriages to plural marriages, to homosexual relationships, to harems. The only requirement for a marriage is that it be sanctified before the gods and honored for life. Once the arrangement - whatever it may be - has been put to writing and made official by the Godsingers it cannot be changed. For example, if a man marries a woman and arranges in the marriage agreement for two concubines, he cannot later take a third concubine without violating the marriage. The punishment for engaging in sexual activity before marriage is castration and a lifetime of service as one of the Silent Brothers and Sisters - bound to serve the church in near slavery for the rest of their lives. The same punishment holds true for violation of marriage agreements. Only the person who actually committed the infringement of the marriage agreement is punished, however their spouse(s) cannot remarry. New Book Law New Book law represents all of the decisions made by the High Godsingers over the generations. It ranges from local legislations such as curfews to nationwide policy like tariffs and war declarations. Races The Holy Empire of Que'edal is composed of elves, half-elves, and humans. Elves Elves are responsible for the management of the church, and are raised to be clergymen and clergywomen from their birth. Because of their grace, long-lives, and beauty, elves are considered closer to the Gods and therefore better able to interpret their will and govern the people. They represent a small percentage of the overall population, but play an important role in government. Elves are respected and revered by the humans and half-elves that they govern, however some - especially humans - have grown to resent their elven leaders. Half-Elves Half-Elves are the children of the elven clergymen and their human subjects or the descendants of the products of such unions. They are considered more inspired and creative than their human counterparts, but also softer and less able in physical tasks and those that require strength of mind, grit, and steadfastness. They therefore are often found in artistic, magical, and alchemical endeavors and not in trade, science, craftsmanship, and the military. They also compose a part of the peasant class, but are found more in cities where there is a strong church influence and a longstanding tradition of marriage between elves and humans. Humans Humans compose the majority of the population of the Holy Empire of Que'edal, forming the peasant, craftsman, and merchant class. They are also commonly found dabbling in the scientific and alchemical arts, and a few have been known to work in the arts, although this is more common and accepted for half-elves. Humans form the backbone of the military and navy, holding near all officerships and making up the majority of the forces. This is because humans are thought of as being more connected to the earth than to the gods and therefore suited for gritty tasks like warfare, trade, engineering, and craftsmanship. While some humans hold respectable positions in these fields, most are peasants and common folk, performing manual labor to make ends meet along with a few of their half-elf cousins. Foreign Relations The Holy Empire, as previously mentioned, prefers subtle tactics to outright warfare in their foreign relations. They maintain tight trade relations in addition to their missions of conquest, but the goal in diplomacy is always the same weather it's focused on trade or annexation: bringing the influence of the gods to more people. It is not uncommon for trade partners to find themselves dependent on the Que'edi for vital resources and eventually a part of the empire. River Duchies To the immediate south, the River Duchies have perhaps the most heterogenous relationship with the empire, because the land is broken up into so many small duchies and lordships. Some of the Riverdukes maintain trade relations with the empire, especially those near the mountains with access to metal ore deposits. Others are currently hosting Que'edi emissaries and yet others are in active, militant resistance to the impositions of their neighbors. In all relations with the Riverdukes, the Holy Empire of Que'edal is focused on expansion and bringing new converts into the fold of the Chorus. Calendar and Important Dates The Que'edi calendar is based on the solar year, and months on the orbit about the gas giant planet. There are eight days in the week, one for each god. The first day is Riyari's day, the last day is Uyur's day. The day of the week dictates what god the people are to dedicate the figure placed in the household or business shrine and the focus of the daily services. There is a number holidays in Que'edal, most of which are religious. Cities and LocationsCategory:Que'edal Most of the population of the Holy Empire is concentrated in its vast urban metropolises, especially the capitol, Ja'aquahathi.